Three Gifts
by storm-aurora
Summary: Moon decides to give Sun three different gifts for his birthday...


**A/N: This was originally written on Sun's birthday. Delivery fluff is surprisingly fun to write, and people seem to like it, so here we are.**

"Goooood morning! Rise and shine, zzt!"

Moon groaned and rolled over in her sleeping bag. She was still exhausted, and Rotom's cheerful wake-up calls were still unbelievably irritating. Maybe if she just ignored it, she could get in a little bit more sleep…

"Hey, aren't you gonna get up, miss? We've gotta get back to Malie City by noon, remember?"

Her brief return to a blissful sleep was once again interrupted by someone with far too much enthusiasm at this time of day. "I remember," she muttered, face still half-buried in her pillow. Professor Kukui had arranged for them to meet with the other Trial Captain of Ula'ula Island there, who was supposed to give them more information about the Tapu.

Still, that meeting seemed unimportant when she was wrapped up in the folds of her sleeping bag like a Swadloon, warm and content. Quite warm, in fact. Actually…maybe a little too warm. Why did it always have to be this hot in Alola?

Sighing, Moon flung open her sleeping bag before she melted into a puddle. She sat up, yawning, and rubbed her eyes. Sun had already packed up his sleeping gear and was leaning against a rock a few feet away from her, munching on a Qualot Berry. Rotom was hovering nearby. Sun grinned at her when she made eye contact.

"Want some breakfast?" he asked. "I found some more Berries underneath that tree this morning."

"I'm not eating Berries straight off the ground!" Moon complained. "Plus, you can't live on a diet of nothing but Berries. It won't kill you to spare a few yen on a decent meal for once."

Sun just shrugged, having had this argument with Moon too many times to care about it anymore. "Suit yourself," he said, taking a large bite out of the Berry.

Moon huffed and reached into her bag, pulling out a granola bar. She unwrapped it, took a bite, and stuffed the wrapper in her bag for when they passed a trash can. She was always grumpy in the morning, but putting food in her stomach put her in a better mood. The gentle breeze that picked up at that moment also helped – she needed to cool down, literally.

"I can't wait for summer to be over," Moon said with a sigh. "This heat is unbearable."

A funny look passed over Sun's face, and he glanced at Rotom. "Rotom, what's today's date?"

"It'zzz August 31st, zzt."

"Oh. It's my birthday," Sun commented, though his tone noticeably lacked his usual vigor.

"Your birthday? You should have told me earlier!" Moon said. "I could have gotten you a gift or something."

Panic flashed in Sun's eyes. "No, no, it's okay!" he said quickly. "Don't worry about it! I don't need any gifts."

"Why? I thought you loved free stuff," Moon said, a quizzical expression on her face.

"Yeah, well…" Sun scratched his cheek, attempting to find the right words to explain his thoughts. "When you give somebody a gift, you maybe don't have to repay them for it right away. But there's a sense of obligation, like you have to give them a gift in return eventually. So – if you give me a birthday gift, then I should give you one on your birthday, too, whenever that is."

"It's January 1st," Moon informed him, "but–"

"Really? You're a New Year's baby? That sounds like fun!"

"Don't try to change the subject!" Moon chided him. "Look, if having to give me a birthday present is that big a deal to you, then don't worry about it! You don't have to give me one. But I want to give you something for your birthday. So, I will. End of story."

"But you just said you didn't have anything to give to me," Sun pointed out.

"I don't have any thing to give you. But I can give you immaterial gifts, too. In fact…I'll give you three."

"Three gifts?"

Moon nodded. "Does that work for you, courier?" Sun started to nod his assent, but Moon continued speaking. "No…your name is Sun, isn't it?" She paused to think for a moment and grinned. "That'll be my first gift. From now on, I'll call you by your real name. Do you like that gift…Sun?"

Sun's eyes lit up, and the corners of his mouth quirked up in that catlike manner of his. "Yes! I like that gift a lot!" He beamed. "What are the other gifts?"

Moon crossed her arms, attempting to look serious, but she couldn't keep the triumphant grin off her face. "You'll have to wait and see," she said.

"What? I can't have them now!?"

"Nope. You'll get them later. When exactly that is, is a surprise."

Sun protested this, but Moon was unyielding. The truth was, she only had an idea for two gifts, and the other didn't feel appropriate to give yet. She hoped to have figured something out by the time they got to the city, so she could give him the next gift at lunch.

She finished her breakfast and helped Sun pack up, and then they made the thankfully uneventful trek to Malie City. However, things weren't so simple once they arrived. At first, they couldn't remember where they were supposed to meet the Trial Captain in the first place. Then, once Rotom finally remembered that the meeting place was Malie Library, they were faced with the task of locating it. Rotom tried to guide them there using its map, but after wandering around for almost half an hour, Moon finally gave up and asked a local for directions. All in all, by the time they made it to the library, they were fifteen minutes late for the meeting.

Out of breath, they burst into the library and were immediately shushed by the librarian. Moon offered a quick, quiet apology while Sun scanned the room for the girl they were supposed to meet. However, no one in the library matched the description of the Trial Captain that the professor had given them. Moon breathed a sigh of relief that they weren't the only ones running late and dragged Sun over to an empty table to wait.

"While we wait," Moon began quietly, "how would you like to get your second gift?"

Sun immediately perked up. "Second gift!?" he shouted excitedly.

"Shhhhhh!"

The nice thing about the location for their meeting with the Trial Captain was that it gave Moon the inspiration for her second gift for Sun. "For your second gift, I'm going to tell you a story," Moon said.

Sun frowned. "We're in a library," he said. "There are books all around here. How is that any different from picking one out and reading it aloud?"

"It's a story that you won't find in this library," Moon said gleefully. "The story I'm going to tell you is a folk tale from my home region."

Sun gazed in rapt attention as Moon told the folk tale. When she was finished, he requested another one, and she obliged. After repeating this a few more times, she finally sat back and said, "Alright, that's all the ones I can tell you confidently off the top of my head."

Sun blinked. Then his face fell a little. "Aww, that's all?"

"Sun, I've been telling you stories for…" She glanced over at Rotom. "Uh, how long have we been here?"

"About an hour, zzt! Your storiezzz made the time fly by, clever girl! Zz-zz-zzt!"

"That long?" Moon gasped, earning her a glare from someone at a nearby table. "But then…why hasn't the Trial Captain shown up yet?"

Sun shrugged. "I hope she didn't just leave because we were late."

Moon groaned. "I didn't even think of that…" She stood up from the table. "I'm going to go call Professor Kukui and see if he's heard anything from her. Wait here, in case she shows up while I'm gone."

"Wait, miss!" Sun called as Moon walked resolutely past him. He grabbed her wrist before she could pass him by completely, and she turned to face him in surprise. "I, uh…" He blushed slightly. "I really enjoyed those stories you told. Thank you for the gift."

Moon grinned. "You're welcome, courier – I mean, Sun."

After calling the professor, Moon found out that the Trial Captain they were supposed to meet had been held up by something on Route 13. They made plans for Sun and Moon to meet with her in a hotel on that route the next day. Naturally, that meant that they needed to start traveling again.

They stopped at a high-end sushi restaurant for lunch, despite Sun's protests. Moon thought that Sun ought to indulge himself a little on his birthday – and he did admit that the food was delicious. They picked up a couple of malasadas for the road before they left, and finally headed south.

Rotom calculated that they could make it to the hotel on time if they reached Route 12 before the end of the day. They made decent progress and finally sat down for dinner by a bamboo forest in the evening.

Sun kept looking at Moon expectantly all throughout the meal. Finally, after they were finished, Moon asked, "Are you waiting for something?"

"Of course I am!" he exclaimed. "You promised me three gifts on my birthday…and the first two were really awesome, so the last one must be even better! Can I have it now?"

"No, you can't," Moon retorted. "And, just for that, you have to wait until we go to bed to get the last gift." The last gift was the one she was the most uncertain about. She didn't know if he would like it or not, so she had actually been planning to give it to him as late as possible so it would be less painful if he didn't. Now she had an excuse to do it that way.

"Aww…"

They hit the road again, but the last few hours of the day seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. Before Moon knew it, they were once again unrolling their sleeping bags under the stars.

"Now," Sun declared, sitting up on his sleeping bag, "it's time for my third gift, isn't it?"

Moon fidgeted on her own sleeping bag. "Yes," she admitted, "I suppose it is." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then opened them and leaned forward. "Come closer so I can give it to you," she said.

Sun's sleeping bag wasn't exactly right next to hers, so he crawled over to Moon on his hands and knees and hovered next to her. "So? What is it?"

"Here. This is your third gift." Moon leaned in towards Sun again and hesitated for a moment, her gaze flickering up to his eyes. They were, as always, bright with anticipation. She smiled and gently pressed her lips to his.

A kiss.

That was the final gift.

Moon pulled back and glanced at Sun's face to gauge his reaction. He was still too shocked to react by her first glance, but a moment later the corners of his mouth had turned up into a broad grin. His eyes sparkled with delight as he exclaimed, "Thank you, Moon! That was…the best gift of them all!"

Moon's cheeks flushed as she sat back on her sleeping bag. "Oh, I…it's not a problem, Sun. I hope I made this a good birthday for you."

"Of course!"

It was only after they were each tucked into their sleeping bags that something occurred to Moon. "You used my name."

"What?" Sun mumbled, half-asleep.

"When you thanked me for the gift. You called me by my name, instead of just 'miss'." She was wide awake and staring at him now.

"Mmm…yeah, I guess I did," he said wearily. "I guess…if you're gonna start calling me by my name, I should return the favor." After a moment's pause, he added, "Goodnight, Moon. And thank you."

Moon smiled. "Goodnight, Sun. And you're welcome."


End file.
